The bottom line is clear: Our vital interests in Afghanistan are limited and military victory is not the key to achieving them. On the contrary, waging a lengthy counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan may well do more to aid Taliban recruiting than to dismantle the group, help spread conflict further into Pakistan, unify radical groups that might otherwise be quarreling amongst themselves, threaten the long-term health of the U.S. economy, and prevent the U.S. government from turning its full attention to other pressing problems. -- Afghanistan Study Group

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

British troops to leave Afghanistan - Britain has begun to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan after signing a transit agreement with Kazakhstan, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Reported security incidents
#1: Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says a suicide car bomber has injured at least six civilians in an attack targeting a supply convoy of NATO-led forces in the southern Helmand Province. A ministry statement on February 29 said the bombing occurred in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. Two children were reported among those injured in the attack. A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the incident, but said no one in the convoy was injured and no damage was done to the convoy.

#2: At least six Taliban insurgents were killed when they attacked a Nato base in eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday night, local officials said. The incident took place in the Khoghyani district of the province, when several Taliban insurgents attacked a Nato base, provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, told TOLOnews. No Nato soldiers or Afghan civilians were harmed in the clashed, he said.

#3: Two women and a child were killed on Wednesday when a bomb ripped through their vehicle in Pakistan's Taliban and Al-Qaeda infested tribal belt on the Afghan border, officials said. The blast took place on the outskirts of Bara, a restive town of Khyber district bordering Afghanistan, where US-led foreign and Afghan troops are fighting against a 10-year Taliban insurgency. "At least two women and a child were killed and five others were wounded in a bomb blast," Khyber's administrator Mutahir Zeb Khan told AFP. The bomb was planted on the roadside and detonated remotely as the pick-up vehicle carrying the passengers passed, he said. The target was unclear.

#4: Afghan police killed four insurgents during operations in Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the last 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said.

#5: Ten people were injured by a bomb blast in Taliqan, the capital of northern Takhar province on Wednesday, a local official said. "A bomb planted inside the branch of Kabul Bank in Taliqan city was detonated at around 01:15 p.m. local time leaving 10 people injured," spokesman for provincial administration Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi told Xinhua. Some of the injured men are in critical condition, he said.

#6: According to local authorities in southern Helmand province, at least 2 Afghan local police service members were killed by unknown gunmen in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon at Lashkargah city of southern Helmand province. Mohammad Ismail Hotak Deputy of the provincial police coordination in southern Helmand province said, the two local police service members were killed after unknown gunmen opened fire on them.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The DoD is reporting the death of Sgt. Ahmed K. Altaie. He was previously listed as missing/captured (MIA) and on Saturday, February 25th reclassified as dead. He was was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen wearing military uniforms have stopped a bus in northern Pakistan, ordered selected passengers to get off and then killed 18 of them in an apparent sectarian attack, police said. The victims were all Shiite Muslims, a minority in Pakistan that is frequently targeted by extremists from the majority Sunni community, said lawmaker Abdul Sattar. A spokesman for a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, a Sunni militant group, claimed responsibility for the killings. Around 27 other people on the bus were spared. The incident in the remote Kohistan region. The attack took place in the mountainous village of Harban Nala, which is 211 miles north of the capital Islamabad. The area, part of the famed Silk Road linking northern Pakistan to China, is populated by Sunni tribes. Police officer Mohammad Azhar said the bus was travelling from Rawalpindi city to Gilgit when the gunmen attacked.

#2: In the volatile Nawzad district of Helmand province a group of seven Taliban militants died while trying to cut a pipe bomb and fit it into a vehicle yesterday, provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi told AFP. “The explosive-packed pipe detonated killing a Taliban commander along with six of his fighters,” he said.

#3: On the same day, seven people, including six women, were killed in an explosion in Nawa district of the same province inside a house used by a local Taliban commander Mullah Manan, a senior security official said. “We have intelligence that the Taliban commander was making bombs inside the house,” Mohammad Ismail Hotak told AFP.

#4: Four soldiers and 10 militants were killed in a skirmish between Pakistani forces and a group of militants in the Seplatoi area of the South Waziristan tribal region late on Monday, security officials said on Tuesday.

Monday, February 27, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a small arms/gunfire attack by an ANA soldier in an undisclosed location in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, February 25th. News reports that an Afghan working for the MoD shot two American officers in the head and escaped.

Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the gates of a NATO base and airport in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, triggering a blast that killed nine Afghans, officials said. The Taliban claimed the attack was revenge for U.S. troops burning copies of the Qur’an. The bombing in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. Shortly after daybreak, the bomber drove up to the gates of the airport, which primarily serves international military aircraft, and detonated his explosives in a "very strong" blast, said Nangarhar provincial police spokesman Hazrad Mohammad. Among the dead were six civilians, two airport guards and one soldier, Mohammad said. Another six people were wounded, he said

#2: Eight U.S. soldiers were wounded in a protest at a base in Afghanistan, continuing a week of violence directed toward American forces in the country. NBC News said the soldiers were wounded when a grenade was thrown during a demonstration in Kunduz province against the burning of Korans at the U.S. airbase in Bagram, north of the capital, Kabul.

On Sunday, demonstrators hurled grenades at a small U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and the ensuing gun battle left two Afghans dead and seven NATO troops injured.

#3: An Afghan official says four insurgents were killed by a rocket that they were trying to fire into an Afghan-run military base in the east of the country. Nazian district administrator Mohammad Issa says the insurgents clashed with Afghan soldiers outside the base on Monday. He says they were killed when the rocket they were trying to shoot into the base instead exploded among them.

#4: A blast hit the site where Awami National Party (ANP) was holding a public rally that killed five persons and injured 15 others, including four policemen, our sources reported Monday. The bomb went off soon after chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Amir Haider Hoti, and other ministers in his provincial cabinet had left the meeting in the town of Nowshera. According to police, a remote-controlled bomb that was fixed in a motorcycle hit the ANP rally venue after the public address concluded. As a result of blast, five persons were killed while 15 others were injured including four policemen. The injured were shifted to District Headquarter Hospital where five are said to be in critical condition.

#5: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed six insurgents and detained three more as they launched an attack on a police checkpoint on the border with Pakistan. The assault took place in Nazian district of eastern Nangarhar province, regional governor spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said.

#6: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed five insurgents and detained 22 in eight operations over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement.

#7: Eight civilians, including four children and two women, were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Khost province, senior police detective Mohammad Yaqub told Reuters.

#8: Three rockets landed in the Afghan capital Kabul in the early hours of Saturday morning, but did not cause any casualties, police said.

#9: A homemade bomb exploded next to a Pakistani military patrol in the Sararogha area of the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing two soldiers and wounding another, security officials said.

#10: Militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a Pakistani military checkpost in the Sarwakai area of South Waziristan, killing two soldiers, security officials said.

#11: According to local authorities in southern Uruzgan province, at least 3 Afghan police service members were killed and injured following a roadside bomb explosion in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place in the central city of Tarinkowt. A spokesman for provincial police commandment Farid Ayel confirming the report said, the incident took place at Spilandi area in the central city of Tarinkowt after an Afghan Police vehicle struck with a roadside bomb. Mr. Ayel further added, at least 1 Afghan police officer was killed and 2 others were injured.

Editor's Note: We are generally reticent here but I do feel compelled to comment on the current situation. American reporters dutifully follow orders and always refer to the "accidental" or "unintentional" burning of copies of the Koran by U.S. forces. In fact, we don't know exactly how or why this happened but it could hardly have been unintentional. It may well have been done without malice, out of ignorance and stupidity. But one must ask how it is possible, after 10 years of occupying the country, that the U.S. military still cannot seem to train and discipline its forces to understand and respect local culture and customs. As of now, it should be obvious to everyone that the U.S. project in Afghanistan is hopeless and pointless. It has already done irreparable damage. The longer it goes on, the worse it will get. -- C

Reported security incidents
#1: Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence says six Afghan soldiers have been killed and 16 others wounded while trying to defuse a roadside bomb. The ministry says the soldiers died on Saturday in Mukar district of Baghdis province in western Afghanistan.

#2: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed 12 insurgents and detained six more in Paktia and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement.

#3: Seven militants were killed when Pakistani forces shelled their hideout in the Bara area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, security officials said. The death toll could not be independently verified, and militants often dispute official accounts.

#4: A mortar shell landed on a house in the Bara area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing three people and wounding three others, security officials said.

#6: According to International Security Assistance Force officials, multiple insurgents were killed following a joint militqry operation by Afghan and International coalition security forces in eastern Afghanistan. The officials further added, the insurgents were killed in Qarghai district of eastern Laghman province while they were placing improvised exploive devices. Afghan and coalition security forces positively identified the insurgents and called in close air support assets to engage their position, ISAF said.

#7: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 2 Afghan civilians were injured following an explosion in eastern Kunar province. The officials further added, the incident took place around 8:30 am local time on Saturday at Narang district of eastern Kunar province. Narang district police chief said, the main target of the explosion was a local police commander Waziri, who survived the incident. According to local residents, the improvised explosive device was planted in a roadside at a market in Nanrang district and went off while the local police commander was crossing the area.

Reported security incidents
#1: Suicide bombers armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked a police station in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar early Friday, killing three officers in an assault authorities said was likely in revenge for offensives against nearby strongholds. City police chief Imtiaz Altaf said three militants entered the compound after attacking the main gate, then blew themselves up when police returned fire, he said. "They wanted to occupy this police station, but they failed," he told reporters

#2: In a separate incident, two men planting a homemade bomb at the side of a road were wounded when it exploded, police officials said.

#3: At least eight suspected Taliban militants were killed Friday in a clash between militants and security forces in eastern Afghan province of Laghman, an army commander said. "The clash broke out in wee hours Friday morning when Afghan army personnel came in contact with suspected Taliban militants in Surkhakan area of Qarghayi district in Laghman province but during the shootout eight militants were killed," an army commander with Sayllab Corps, Colonel Shah Alam, told Xinhua.

#4: In a separate development, a civilian was killed and six other civilians injured when a bicycle bomb went off in neighbouring Khost province Friday morning, a provincial police sources said. "A bomb planted in bicycle was detonated through a remote control in Faiz Mohammad neighbourhood of provincial capital Khost city leaving one civilians dead and injuring six others including a women," deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqub told Xinhua.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Khost province, at least 7 people were killed and injured following a roadside Improvised Explosive Device explosion in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place at Spin Jomat area at eastern Khost city. According to eyewitnesses at least 1 civilian was killed and 6 others were injured following the explosion.

#6: A Norwegian soldier sustained injuries during a demonstration against Norway’s Meymaneh military complex, northern Afghanistan. Major Ivar Moen, on-duty Norway Joint HQ press spokesperson, tells The Foreigner, “he was injured in the leg after a hand grenade was thrown over the wall. We have no information on his condition as yet, but he is being treated at the Norwegian hospital inside the camp.”

Thursday, February 23, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a small arms/gunfire attack by an ANA soldier in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, February 23rd. This is an update from an earlier ISAF release.

More than 50 killed in wave of bombings across Iraq -- The majority of attacks, which were carried out with car bombs and small arms, appeared to target security forces in the capital and other cities, authorities said. At least 52 people were killed and more than 220 people were wounded, according to death tolls provided by local security officials.

Reported security incidents
#1: American forces have killed an Afghan soldier amid the intensifying nationwide protests in Afghanistan against the desecration of the Holy Qur’an by US-led forces, Press TV reports. The Afghan soldier was shot dead by American troops in Laghman province on Thursday.

#2: At least 15 militants were killed and several injured when airforce jets bombed suspected hideouts of miscreants in upper Orakzai agency on Thursday. Official sources said that the aircraft bombed the hideouts of militants in various areas of Upper Orakzai Agency including Bermela, Khadizai, Mamozai, Samabazar and adjoining areas destroying four hideouts of the militants. They said that jets were sent to bomb hideouts of the militants after intelligence reports that militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) led by TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, were hiding in the mountainous region bordering Afghanistan.

#3: A car bomb ripped through a Pakistani bus station on Thursday, killing 12 people, including two children on the outskirts of the north-western city of Peshawar, officials said. The attack happened on the road towards the garrison city of Kohat near the lawless tribal belt, a stronghold of Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants blamed for violence plaguing both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, unknown armed militants beheaded an Afghan journalist in eastern Paktika province. The officials further added, the Afghan journalist working in a local Radio station was beheaded by unknown gunmen in Orgon district of eastern Paktika province. Provincial Security Chief for eastern Paktika province Gen. Dawlat Khan Zadran confirming the report said, the dead body of the Afghan journalist was found this morning.

Reported security incidents
#1: A homemade bomb exploded next to a police vehicle in the Shabqadar area of the northwestern Charsadda district, near the restive Mohmand tribal region, security officials said. There were no casualties.

#2: A homemade bomb exploded outside a house in the Spin Qabar area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing two people and wounding another, security officials said. Police said the device exploded as residents tried to remove it.

#3: A homemade bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded outside a hospital in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police officials said. There were no casualties.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The DoD is reporting the deaths of four U.S. soldiers. They died when their U-28 plane crashed near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa on Saturday, February 18th. This appears to be a non-hostile accident. There’s various newsreports on the soldiers and their units missions which preforms transport operations to small airfields for navy SEALS and and Rangers and electronic surveillance. They were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Albanian MoD is reporting the death of an Albanian ISAF soldier when an apparent Afghan National Police man shot him while on patrol somewhere in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on Monday, February 20th. The MoD and news reports that another Albanian soldier and an unidentified ISAF soldier were also wounded in the attack. Here's the ISAF release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-hostile related injury in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, February 21st.

Photos: Heavy snowfall hits Kabul - Note: Afghanistan is experiencing one of the coldest and worse withers in recent memory, Perhaps this is way the violence has subsided over the previous few months and no winter offensive has materialized. Even border areas of Pakistan has been having unseasonable cold weather and snow places where it’s almost never seen. I presume that after the spring thaw and flooding season is over things will be back to normal and the fighting will resume. - whisker

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Italian MoD is reporting the deaths of three Italian ISAF soldiers in a Vehicle accident during a rescue operation about 20 KM. south-west of Shindand, Herat province, Afghanistan on Monday, February 20th. An additional soldier was injured in the incident. Here's the ISAF release.

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Petty Officer First Class Paris S. Pough died from undisclosed causes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Friday, February 17th. He was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Reported security incidents
#1: An Afghan official says a roadside bomb has killed four civilians in southern Kandahar province. The police chief of Kandahar’s Shah Wali Kot district, Mohammad Bacha Khan, said the four were killed on Sunday when their car drove over the bomb. The explosion occurred on a highway in the district.

#2: Also Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked a police station in southern Afghanistan's largest city, Kandahar, killing one police officer. The attacker drove a Toyota Corolla up to the checkpoint outside of the Kandahar police station and detonated his explosives, said the city's police chief, Abdul Raziq. Four people were wounded in the explosion — two police officers and two civilians, he added. Gunfire could be heard immediately following the blast, but Raziq said the shots came from the police.

#3: Mohammad Salim, a police commander in Shindand, said two men on a motorcycle drove up and fired shots at police officers who were shopping in the market. One officer and a boy who was standing nearby were killed.

#4: And a Turkish engineer who was working on construction projects in Shindand was kidnapped over the weekend, Salim said. He said kidnappers forced the man into a car as he was leaving the airport on Saturday. He did not provide further details.

#5: A bomb planted at a checkpoint manned by members of a Pakistani militia fighting a radical group similar to the Taliban exploded Sunday and killed eight militia members in northwest Pakistan, a government official said. The complex attack started when a bomb planted at the checkpoint was detonated by a timer, Khan said. Then as the militiamen were retrieving the bodies, the militants opened fired on them. The militiamen escaped unhurt, but two of the militants were killed in the retaliatory fire.

#6: Militants attacked a Pakistani military checkpost, killing a soldier and wounding three others, in the town of Wana in the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, intelligence and security officials said.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: update The death toll from a suicide motorbike bomb attack in a largely Shiite Muslim area of northwest Pakistan has risen to 31, according to officials. "The death toll rose to 31 after five more people died overnight," top regional administrator Sahibzada Mohammad Anees told AFP. "We still have 35 wounded people, who had been admitted to different hospitals in Parachinar and Peshawar for treatment," he said. A senior local administration official in Parachinar, Shahab Ali Shah, confirmed the new toll. The bomb exploded near a mosque as the main Friday prayers took place in Parachinar, a flashpoint for sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's tribal badlands on the Afghan border.

#3: A homemade bomb exploded in the Tirah area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing three Pakistani soldiers, intelligence officials said.

#4: Three insurgent were killed and eight other suspects detained during joint operations launched by the Afghan forces and NATO-led troops in four Afghan provinces, the country's Interior Ministry said on Saturday. "Afghan National Police, Afghan army and International Coalition Forces launched four joint operations in Kunar, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours killing three armed insurgents and detaining eight others," the ministry said in a statement.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada died from a non-combat related training incident in Djibouti on Tuesday, February 14th. He was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury somewhere in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, February 16th.

Afghan drug war debacle: Blair said smashing opium trade was a major reason to invade but 10 years on heroin production is up from 185 tons a year to 5,800

Fearing infiltration, Afghan army gives soldiers with ties to Pakistan an ultimatum

Reported security incidents
#1: An explosion killed five people and injured several others in Pakistan's tribal region on Friday, a senior government official told CNN. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the explosion, said Shahab Ali Shah, the top government official of Kurrum Agency, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The incident took place in a market of Parachinar, a town in Kurrum Agency, where people are gathered after their Friday prayer, Shah said.

#2: A clash between Pakistani troops and Taliban on Friday killed five militants and three members of a government sponsored militia in the country’s troubled northwest, security officials said. Fighting erupted after Pakistani troops and local militia launched a joint operation against Taliban in the Spindand area of Khyber tribal district, which borders Afghanistan. “Five militants and three members of the militia have been killed in the clash. Three security persons and four militia members have been wounded,” a security official told AFP. “The number of injured from the Taliban side is unknown,” he said.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border Thursday, killing six people, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The attack occurred in Spalga village in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Pakistan, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The identities of those killed were unknown.

#2: Twelve people were killed in the second drone strike within 12 hours in North Waziristan on Thursday, security officials said. Officials said that a car was targeted in Khaisoor area of the agency’s Mir Ali town. The attack was confirmed by two other security officials in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region, known as a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda linked militants. Security officials said several other militants were wounded but the exact number was not immediately known.

#3: A homemade bomb planted in a vehicle exploded in the city of Quetta in the southwestern Baluchistan province, police officials said. There were no casualties.

#4: A militant threw a hand grenade at police officials in the northwestern city of Peshawar, wounding three people, police officials said.

#5: One soldier and eight militants were killed in a skirmish between Pakistani forces and a group of militants in the town of Wana in the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, intelligence officials said.

#6: A suicide bomber detonated his explosive jacket in the town of Dir Khas in the northwestern Upper Dir district, near the Afghanistan border, killing two people and wounding another five, police officials said. The bomber targeted members of a local pro-government, anti-Taliban militia, officials added.

At least three people were killed and seven others were injured in a suicide bomb attack targeting a gathering of local pro-government peace militiamen in Pakistan's northwest Upper Dir area on Thursday morning, reported local media. Earlier local media reports said that the attack took place in Lower Dir area, but they later changed the venue of the attack to Upper Dir. According to a report by local Urdu TV channel Samaa, the incident took place at about 11:30 a.m. (local time) when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting of local pro- government peace militiamen in Upper Dir area, a district located in the country's northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Three participants of the meeting including a son of a tribal leader were killed right on the spot while seven others sustained injuries.

#7: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 3 Afghan civilians were injured following a NATO air raid at eastern Ghazni province. District police chief for Deh-Yak in eastern Ghazni province Faiz Toofan said, at least 3 Afghan civilians including a 7 year old Afghan kid were injured after a missile struck in Alo-Khel village in this district last night.

#8: Several armed insurgents were killed following armed clashes with the Afghan and coalition security forces in northern Afghanistan. According to a statement issued by International Security Assistance Force, fghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Shirin Tagab district, Faryab province.

Reported security incidents
#1: Six people were wounded when a homemade bomb exploded in a market in the Jamrud area of Khyber tribal region, residents and local officials said.

#2: Militants opened fire on a group of labourers in the town of Turbat in the southwestern Baluchistan province, killing seven of them, local government officials said.

#3: A joint Afghan and coalition security force killed three insurgents in Zharay district of Kandahar province on Wednesday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition said in a statement.

#4: Separately, two insurgents were killed in Khanabad district of Kunduz province in the north of the country on Tuesday, it said.

#5: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed two insurgents and detained five in the Kabul, Nangarhar, Helmand, Wardak and Khost provinces over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Pfc. Cesar Cortez died of unreported causes in the Kingdom of Bahrain on Saturday, February 11th. News reports that ne died in a motorcycle accident. Note: he was originally listed as supporting United States Mission Iraq but was changed to supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from small arms fire in the Nad 'Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan on Monday, February 13th. Note: This is the ISAF release posted yesterday.

Gainesville Marine severely wounded in Afghanistan -- Private First Class Sean Adams was clearing a roadway with a mine sweeper when he stepped on the IED. "He has shrapnel to his left eye, lacerations to his face, fractured jaw that is wired shut, both ear drums were ruptured, bruised lungs, soft tissue damage to both his arms, right hand pinky was amputated half way, left hand pinky was amputated, left hand thumb was amputated completely, shrapnel to the groin, left leg was amputated above the knee, and right leg was amputated mid-thigh," said Joshua.

Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan police, backed by army and the NATO-led coalition forces, have killed three insurgents and detained 44 militants during a series of operations over the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. "During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan army and International Coalition Forces launched four joint operations in Jawzjan, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Khost provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

#2: At least six insurgents and two police were killed and four wounded when they engaged in clash in Khoshamand district Paktika province. A media release from Paktika governor say that police were busy of patrolling in Khoshamnd district while they ordered a car to stop but the driver tried to run away from the area toward Ghazni province. Afterward police from Khoshamand and Jani Khel districts of Paktika followed the car into Ghazni province and later engaged in clash with them.

#3: Moreover Taliban claims to have blown up a NATO vehicle killing all personnel on board in Sabari district khost on monday but Sabari sub governor Dawlat Khan Qayumi. NATO press office in eastern Afghanistan confirms the incident but denies the allegations of Taliban regarding the casualties.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Ghazni province, at least 6 Taliban militants were killed following armed clashes with the Afghan security forces in this province. A spokesman for the 505 Spinghar Zone Security Brigade Gen. Hamidullah said, at least 6 Taliban militants were killed and 4 Afghan National Police service members were injured during the cashes. Gen. Hamidullah further added, the clashes took place between the Taliban militants and Paktika police forces at Ghozi village in Ab-Band district of eastern Ghazni province. He also added, 4 Afghan police service members were critically injured during the clashes.

Admiral Seeks Freer Hand in Deployment of Elite Forces -- off with his head - whisker

Reported security incidents
#1: Tajikistan's Defense Ministry says one of its helicopters has crashed in neighboring Afghanistan, killing four air force officers while performing a support operation for the international military coalition. The ministry said in a statement Monday that the helicopter was delivering humanitarian supplies to mountain communities in Afghanistan when it crashed Saturday. That account appears to contradict information provided by United States military contractor Supreme Group, which stated that the helicopter was carrying food and water to U.S. forces. Supreme said the helicopter was operated by a company called Central Asian Aviation Services, It is unclear if the Tajik air force leased its craft and provided the services of its military personnel to the U.S. contractor.

#2: Afghan officials on Sunday reported the assassination of a provincial jurist from a restive eastern province. His 8-year-old daughter was killed along with him, they said. The victim of the latest shooting, on Sunday evening, was Mohammad Nasir, who led the appeals court in Kunar province, which lies near Pakistan's tribal areas and has been the scene of heavy fighting over the last year. The killing occurred as the judge was visiting family in neighboring Nangarhar province. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a provincial spokesman in Nangarhar, said that Nasir was ambushed in his vehicle on his way home from a family visit, and that the shooting also injured two women and five children, all believed to be relatives. Other news accounts said the killing had taken place in the home of a family member in Nangarhar. The killing occurred in a district close to Jalalabad, the main city in Afghanistan's east, which was recently handed over to Afghan security control

#3: Six Taliban insurgents and two Afghan policemen were killed Sunday night in a clash in the country's eastern province of Paktika, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday. "A clash broke out when a group of armed Taliban attacked a police unit in Ghozi Khil area of Abband district of eastern Paktika province Sunday night," the ministry said in a statement. In retaliatory attack by Afghan National Police (ANP) a total of six Taliban, including their commander namely Fida Mohammad, were killed, the statement said. The statement also confirmed two policemen with ANP were also killed in the clash lasted for a while.

#4: At least three people were killed and eight others were injured in a blast targeting a police vehicle in Dera Murad Jamali of southwest Pakistan on Monday, local media reported. According to the report by local Urdu TV channel ARY, the bomb went off at about 12:45 p.m. local time near a police vehicle when it was on its routine patrolling in Dera Murad Jamali, a city located at the east of southwest province of Balochistan. According to the initial reports, the explosive material was fixed in a motorbike parked near a goat market and it was triggered off by a remote controlled device. The explosion killed three people at the spot and injured eight others including four policemen.

#5: A homemade bomb exploded next to a police vehicle in the town of Dera Murad Jamali in the southwestern Baluchistan province, killing two people and wounding 14, local officials said.

#6: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed 10 insurgents during operations in the Kabul, Helmand, Paktika and Farah provinces over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement.

According to local authorities in southern Afghanistan, at least three Taliban militants were killed following armed clashes with the Afghan police in southern Kandahar province. The statement further added, 3 armed insurgents were killed at Arghistan district on Sunday evening after they ambushed an Afghan National Police vehicle at Mosh Giran area. Afghan National Police and Afghan civilians did not suffer any casualties during the clashes, officials confirmed. In the meantime Afghan police forces killed at least 2 insurgents at Maroof district while they were planting roadside bombs after crossing the border from Pakistan.

#7: A bomb blast rocked Trinkot the capital of Uruzgan province 370 km south of capital city Kabul on Monday, killing one person and injuring another, police said. "It was a remote-controlled bomb blast took place at around 08: 00 a.m. local time in Trinkot city as a result one person namely Mohammadullah was killed and another injured," deputy to provincial police chief Gulab Khan told Xinhua. The man killed in the blast was a contractor who supplied food items to police, he further, adding the injured man was a civilian and relative of Mohammadullah.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

And indeed, the NYT reports today that Even dying is being outsourced in Afghanistan. DoD contractors are under no obligation to report their casualties, and don't necessarily compensate the families either. Excerpt:

This is a war where traditional military jobs, from mess hall cooks to base guards and convoy drivers, have increasingly been shifted to the private sector. Many American generals and diplomats have private contractors for their personal bodyguards. And along with the risks have come the consequences: More civilian contractors working for American companies than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year for the first time during the war.

And, right on cue, Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan is not supporting the Afghan Taliban. (To be fair, Balochistan, where the above incident took place, is not under control of the central government. However, it is widely believed that Pakistan tolerates the presence of Afghan Taliban in the border regions, and maintains relations with them, in hope of gaining influence in Afghanistan after a future settlement. -- C)

Reported security incidents
#1: An Afghan government official says five policemen have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. The deputy governor of Uruzgan province, Haji Khubirahim, says the policemen were patrolling in their vehicle when it hit a roadside mine in Chanartu district. He says one civilian also was wounded in the blast, which occurred early on Saturday morning.

#2: Militants fired two rocket-propelled grenades at a military airport in the town of Miranshah in the North Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, security officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

#3: Afghan police backed by army and the NATO-led forces have killed three anti-government militants and captured 12 others over the past 24 hours during series of operations across the country, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Saturday. "During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and the international Coalition Forces launched six joint operations in Nangarhar, Parwan, Helmand, Nimroz, Ghazni and Khost provinces during which three armed insurgents were killed, two wounded and 12 others were arrested," the statement added.

#4: At least five people were injured in an attack on a police mobile in northwestern Pakistani district of Sawabi on Friday evening, reported local Urdu TV channel Dunya.

According to a statement issued by the ministry of defense of Afghanistan, at least 2 Afghan National Army service members were killed and four others were injured in Obe district of western Herat province. The statement further added, at least 2 other Afghan National Army service members were killed and injured in a separate incident at Khas district of eastern Kunar province.

Reported security incidents
#1: Pakistani forces killed 11 militants and wounded 19 in the northwest on Friday, security officials said, in a crackdown in the Kurram tribal region near the border with Afghanistan. The military fired artillery shells at three suspected hideouts in the Mamozai area of Kurram, where dozens of people have been killed in fierce fighting between Pakistani soldiers and insurgents in the last few weeks. The death toll could not be independently verified and militants often dispute official accounts.

#2: It said that six militants were killed on Thursday after foreign forces launched an airstrike in response to rocket-propelled grenade attack and small arms fire in the Nijrab district of Kapisa, situated some 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of the Afghan capital city of Kabul.

#3: Two other were killed after foreign forces retaliated for a barrage of mortar rounds fired by militants in the Khost district of Khost Province, situated 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Kabul, the ISAF statement added.

#4: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai accused NATO on Thursday of killing a number of children in an airstrike, a case which could stoke tensions between the government and its western backers over a mounting civilian death doll. The NATO-led coalition in the country did not immediately confirm the deaths, but said it was investigating an incident in the Najrab district of eastern Kapisa province. Mehrabuddin Safi, the governor of Kapisa, said a coalition air strike late on Wednesday killed eight children in Giawa village. Other Afghan officials had earlier said the strike followed a night raid on suspected insurgents.

#5: Kandahar (BNA) two civilians were wounded in a bomb explosion in Kandahar province yesterday, this bomb exploded yesterday noon in the Khwaja BaBa area, of that province. According to reports, Taliban was placed this bomb in a motorbikes. Media’s office of Kandahar province said to BNA, in this explosion, two civilians have been wounded.

#6: A homemade bomb planted in a donkey cart exploded in the Khuzdar area of the southwestern Baluchistan province, killing one person and wounding another, police officials said.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

National Guard (in Federal Status) and Reserve Activated as of February 7, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone strike killed four people in Pakistan's tribal region Thursday morning, Pakistani officials told CNN. The drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant hideout in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, according to security and political officials, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The attack was the second drone strike in Pakistan in as many days.

#2: Two policemen were killed and one wounded when they tried to defuse a mine planted in Lashkar Gah city in southern province Helmand on Wednesday, said Farid Farhang, a media advisor to the provincial police chief.

#3: Afghan security forces and foreign troops killed two insurgents and detained 30 more in joint operations in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Khost, Kapisa, Helmand and Herat provinces over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement.

#5: Gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed local politician Abdul Ghani Haqqani in the town of Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province, near the Afghan border, security officials said.

#6: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police forces launched a joint military operation at eastern Khost province. Provincial security officials following a press release said, the operations have been conducted in a number of bordering regions of eastern Khost province. Sardar Mohammad Zazai Provincial Security Chief for eastern Khost province said, a number of suspected militants were detained during the military operation last evening.

#7: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 8 Afghan civilians were killed following an air raid by International Coalition forces in eastern Kapisa province. The officials further added, the incident took place in Nejrab district of eastern Kapisa province. A number of local residents said, the civilians were killed while they were feeding their animals on a mountain in Giawa in Nejrab district.

#8: According to local authorities in southern Afghanistan, at least 3 Afghan National police service members were killed and injured following an explosion in southern Helmand province on Thursday. The officials further added, the incident took place around 10:30 am local time killing at least 2 Afghan police and injuring 1 other. Provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi confirming the report said, the incident took place after an explosive device planted in a road culvert went off at Lashkargah city. Mr. Ahmadi further added, Afghan police forces were struggling to defuse the roadside bomb when the explosion took place.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: U.S. drone-fired missiles hit a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing nine people, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The attack occurred in Spalga village in the North Waziristan tribal area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The dead included some domestic Taliban militants, said the officials. The area where the strike occurred is dominated by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a prominent militant commander focused on fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan.

#2: Militants set off a homemade bomb next to a police patrol in the village of Chinari in the northwestern Mohmand tribal region near the Afghanistan border, killing two policemen and wounding another, local government officials said.

#3: A homemade bomb exploded outside a bank in the southwestern city of Quetta, wounding one person, police officials said.

#4: Unidentified armed men threw a grenade at a local political group's office in the Lyari area of the southern city of Karachi, killing two people and wounding four, police officials said.

#5: A homemade bomb exploded in the Nasirabad area of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, wounding four people, including a paramilitary soldier, security officials said.

#6: Three armed insurgents have been killed and 13 others detained during joint Afghan and NATO-led coalition operations in five provinces, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. "Afghan National Police (ANP), Afghan army, NDS or Afghan intelligence agency and Coalition Forces launched five joint operations in Helmand, Kandahar, Khost, Logar and Kapisa provinces over the past 24 hours,"the ministry said in a statement. "As a result of these operations, three armed insurgents were killed and 13 others were arrested by the ANP,"it said.

#7: A training plane of Pakistan Air Force crashed in Pashin district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Wednesday, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo.

Reported security incidents
#1: An employee of a private security firm has reportedly killed three of his colleagues and two Afghan police officers in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar. Five other security guards were reported injured in the incident, which is reported to have occurred late on February 6. The Kandahar municipal government media office said one of the wounded was also a police officer. No motive or other details about the incident were available.

#2: NATO forces say one of their helicopters has crashed in eastern Afghanistan, and all aboard survived. The international military coalition says in a statement that the crew has been taken to a nearby base, and initial reports indicate no enemy activity in the area of Monday’s crash

Monday, February 6, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb in southern Afghanistan has killed a child and injured three others, a government spokesman said Monday. The bomb was hidden in a motorbike parked near a market in Dehrawod district of Uruzgan province, Farid Ayel said. 'Bomb went off last night, killing a underage girl and injuring three other boys,' Ayel said, adding that the intended target was apparently foreign troops.

#2: The government in Islamabad says a military convoy struck a roadside bomb in northwestern Pakistan on February 5, killing one soldier. Another 12 Pakistani soldiers were injured when militants opened fire on the convoy after the explosion in the Kurram tribal area. Khan said the convoy had been dispatched to provide reinforcements to the Sheendand area of Kurram, where militants had set up a hideout. It was not immediately clear whether any miitants were killed or wounded in the clash.

#3: Afghan and foreign forces killed six insurgents and detained 19 in Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Daikundi and Khost provinces over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement.

#4: A homemade bomb exploded next to a Pakistani military vehicle in the Alizai area of the northwestern Kurram tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing a soldier and wounding ten others, security officials said.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Oh yeah, remember that withdrawal of U.S. combat forces by 2013 and end of the NATO mission in 2014? Not exactly. US Special Forces to Stay in Afghanistan Beyond 2014. "As the United States is planning to wind down it's combat troops a year later than scheduled, senior Pentagon military officials have said that, US Special Operation Forces will remain in Afghanistan after the Nato led mission ends in 2014. . . . While some US forces are preparing to withdraw, thousands of the US Special Operation Forces will remain on the ground and the number may increase." It's okay, see. These forces are "special" so they don't count.

Note that as with Iraq, many security incidents are only reported by local media. Relying on the Reuters factbox or wire services in general will give you only a partial picture of the actual level of violence in the country. -- C

Syria and Iraq execute a trade agreement. (The way I read this, the effect is to make Iraq into a route for breaking any economic sanctions against Syria. Basically it sets up border portals and allows goods bound to and from one country to transit the other. -- C)

Reported security incidents
#1: At least four people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the office of a property dealer in Peshawar, the capital city of northwest Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Friday night. Federal Minister Bashir Bilaur told media that a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the office of a property dealer, Astana Gul, at Ring Road area of Peshawar. There were four people inside the building when the blast took place. Following the explosion, the office building was razed to the ground. Later talking to media, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told media that the target of the blast -- Astana Gul is the leader of a banned outfit of militants, however he was not present inside the building at the time of blast.

#2: The first incident took place in Cholan area 5 kilo meters east of Khost city on Friday night when a land mine hit an Afghan National Army soldiers while they were patrolling in the area. ANA press office in the 1st ANA brigade 203rd corp says one ANA soldier was killed and two other were wounded when a remote control bomb detonated on their soldier’s foot patrol.

Reported security incidents
#1: Seven security personnel and 18 militants were killed and five soldiers were kidnapped by Taliban militants, on Friday, during an attack on a check post in the restive Kurram tribal region of northwest Pakistan, which has witnessed fierce fighting in recent days. The militants attacked the check post in Shidano Dand area near the border with Afghanistan overnight, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels. The attack triggered fierce clashes in which seven soldiers and 18 militants were killed, the officials said. The rebels took away five soldiers. There was no official word on the incident.

#2: Finnish soldiers exchanged fire with insurgents in northern Afghanistan on Thursday. None of the peacekeepers were wounded in the action in which they returned fire in self-defence. The joint Finnish-Swedish patrol was travelling from Darzab to Sheberghan when they were attacked. The skirmish lasted ten minutes.

#3: An Italian base in southwestern Afghanistan came under fire Thursday afternoon but "no damage was done," military sources said Friday. Italian troops have been fighting the Taliban for control of roads in the region and there have been "almost daily" firefights, they said. An Italian soldier was killed at the 'Snow' outpost in the Gulistan district in December 2010.

#4: A homemade bomb exploded outside a house in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, killing one person and wounding two others, local government officials said.

#5: Militants attacked a paramilitary checkpost in the Bara area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region near the Afghanistan border, killing a soldier and wounding another two, security officials said. Two militants were killed when Pakistani forces at the post returned fire, officials added.

Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban militants armed with guns and grenades ambushed a police patrol in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing three officers and wounding another, police said. The attack took place in Lakki Marwat district, part of the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. Police said eight to 10 Taliban fighters ambushed a police vehicle, first by hurling a grenade and then opening fire with Kalashnikovs after policemen tried to retaliate. "Three policemen were killed and one was injured. Taliban later escaped," Mohammad Gulzar, the district police chief, told AFP.

#2: Suspected militants killed five policemen in a shootout in the volatile southwestern Baluchistan province early on Wednesday, police said. Some 20 militants attacked the policemen travelling in a car who were heading towards the provincial capital, Quetta.

#3: The suspected militants kidnapped a senior government official in another district of the province. (Baluchistan province)

#4: Two people were killed and several wounded in a bombing in a market on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, government officials said.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 7 people were killed and injured following an explosion in eastern Kapisa province. The officials further added, the incident took place after a car packed with explosives went off in Nejrab district of eastern Kapisa province. District police chief for Nejrab Ata Mohammad Nazari confirming the report said, at least 1 Afghan civilian was killed and 6 others were injured following the explosion which took place in a busy market in Nejrab district. Mr. Nazari further added, the explosion took place on Wednesday evening at Chowkandaz area. He also added, the main target of the explosion was the convoy of the coalition security forces.

#6: According to local government officials in western Afghanistan, at least four Taliban militants were killed following armed clashes with the Afghan border protection police forces in western Herat province. Gen. Toryalai Halimyar deputy commander of the border protection forces in the 4th western zone said, the clashes took place last night in Keshk-Robat Sangi district after a number of the Taliban militants attacked a security check post. Gen. Halimyar further added, at least four Taliban militants were killed during the clashes which lasted at least two hours. He all added, Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties during the clashes and armed Taliban militants fled the area.

#7: In the meantime at least 2 Afghan police service members were killed and three others were injured in a separate incident at Shindand district of western Herat province. Local security officials said, the security forces were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in Azizabad area at Shindand district. Gen. Syed Aqa Saqib provincial security chief said, the incident took place after Afghan security forces were tracing a group of the thieves in Shindand district. Gen. Saqib further added, at least two police forces were killed and 1 of them was injured during the incident.

#8: He also said, at least two other Afghan police forces were injured after an Afghan police Ranger vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in Azizabad area (Herat province) while they were on their way to assist the local residents who had suffered from natural disasters. According to Gen. Saqib, the roadside bombs were planted by Taliban militants.